By Monk and The Dark Queen
Riffology. The study of the riff. For students of this most masterful of subjects, tonight promised to be a masterclass, with guaranteed honours degrees awarded to all of those fit and able enough to survive this intense cramming session. So, Class of ’25, sharpen your pencils and pay close attention – especially you lot down the back – as the school bell has rung out very loudly and your presence is mandatory…
Returning to the Voodoo stage for the first time in almost a year – and specially selected by our headliners to deliver this evening’s opening lecture – Solothurn kick straight in with their dense, grinding groove, filled with dark, tensile strength and gravitas which is tighter than a welded bolt and heavier than a tonne of steel being dropped on you by the nearby shipyard cranes.
Their singer admits to being smitten with the cold but that does nothing to besmirch his 100 per cent commitment, and while this may be their first gig in nine months they show no signs of any ring rust, displaying a dense and energetic dynamism throughout their set.
Under the circumstances, big Dave asking “do you want to hear some riffs” seemed somewhat superfluous. Of course we did, it was our whole raison d’être for being here – and it is exactly what the trio deliver: big crunchy ones with equal amounts of bottom-ended tonnage and massive melodies which counterpoint one another with the laconic elegance in which the band have specialized for more than two decades.
Dave’s equally laconic sense of humour shines (darkly) through in his between song banter. “For all you nerds, we’re going to drop B” he advises us early on before going on to regale us with some insights to life on the road during their 23-year career: “we once played in Enniskillen to just the bar staff – even the support band fucked off… but, then, we have played Bloodstock twice!”
Tonight was Skypilot‘s 200th gig: this may not seem to represent a blue-collar work ethic, but when their approach to the live scenario is as laconic and stoical as their musical style, it means that each show becomes an occasion in itself – and tonight was one of those, as the boys delivered another masterclass in the art of riffology of the taut and beefy variety.
Class dismissed. Don’t forget to hand your papers in to the invigilator on the way out…
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